Betsi Fores

Toby Keith prefers whiskey for his men and beer for his horses, but a new Gallup study shows that beer in fact remains the most consumed form of alcohol, followed by wine and liquor.

The new study on consumption habits shows that about 44 percent of Americans are regular drinkers with 12 percent of drinkers reporting they’ve consumed more than eight drinks in the last week.

This mirrors the results of a similar study done by the Center for Disease Control earlier this year that reported about 17 percent of the U.S. population binge drinks at least four times a month, with the average number of drinks at each sitting being eight.

“People tend to underreport how much they drink,” New York psychiatrist Dr. Selman said earlier this year. “If they had six drinks, you have to figure they really had ten or 12.”

Dr. Selman treats wealthy patients in New York, who have increasingly become heavy drinkers, due to greater amounts of stress at their jobs.

“I have people (patients) burning the candle at both ends and they are so stressed out they can’t believe it,” said Dr. Selman. “They are promised bonuses or titles or directorship jobs, et cetera — only to be disappointed when the earnings come in below expectations. They don’t get the raise, they don’t get the bonus, they don’t get anything. And, they have been working 20 hours a day.”

22 percent of people claimed that they often find themselves drinking more than they mean to, according to Gallup.

Gallup did a poll two years ago that showed a correlation of high income earners and alcohol consumption. 81 percent of people earning more than $75,000 a year drank as opposed to 46 percent of workers who drank with salaries less than $20,000.

Consumption of alcohol also increased between people with a high school degree or less to those with postgraduate education, from 58 to 74 percent.

According to a World Health Organization study, the United States consumes 9.44 liters of alcohol per person, per year, which is only about half of what is consumed by the hardest drinking countries.

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